


Incorporeal Scars

by badwolfec



Category: Voltron Legendary Defender
Genre: (again), (in later chapters), :), Don't want to spoil anything, Ghost Keith, I think I spelled someone's name wrong..., Sort Of, WAIT THE ONLY REASON IT SAYS MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH IS BECAUSE, ahhhhhhh, blade of marmora, but - Freeform, dont leave, first chapter will probably be the shortest, gender neutral pronouns for pidge, ghost!keith, ghosts ARE DEAD, hes a ghost, oh well, ohhh I'm so excited!!!, red (voltron) - Freeform, shes a cat, yes the lion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 05:57:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12647514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badwolfec/pseuds/badwolfec
Summary: Pidge sat up and closed their laptop, worrying Shiro, especially with the current topic of discussion. They looked up, their glasses glaring in the light, and expression more serious."How long has Keith been missing?""Weeks..."





	Incorporeal Scars

~~~~He continued on his daily activities-unknowing of the situation-until bits of his soul were left behind for those that loved him to find. Soon he began to notice as his memory diminished until pieces were left; He didn't recognize himself as a living being anymore-or once living, would be more accurate to say. The small apartment he had once lived in was filled with fragments and a vague presence left unnoticed, until there was a knock on the door. "Keith are you in there?!"

There was no answer.

Shiro knocked again by putting his hand on the door, a lot quieter this time. "Keith, I know you're upset-we all are-but you need to answer. It's been weeks."

The presence stirred, still unnoticed.

"Keith, we're all worried. Friends are there to help support and-"

His rant was interrupted by Red scratching on the small door-something she had learned to do to get Keith's attention when he forgot to feed her. Shiro figured either Keith was listening quietly behind the door ignoring Red and waiting for him to leave, or he wasn't home entirely.

Shiro sighed, and took the spare key Keith had given out of his wallet. It was for emergencies only, but if Keith really was home, he'd understand, albeit being slightly upset about it at first.

The iron key shook in his prosthetic arm, as if the fake limb was warning of a disastrous outcome, but he shrugged it off as another symptom of his PTSD-the scene in front of him flashed into a suppressed memory of him and two other crew members stepping into a ship, it flashed again, turning into him turning a key as one of the many preparations to fly the ship, and then the final scene of the ship's warnings flashing, right before it-

Shiro closed his eyes and quickly turned the key, quietly reminding himself how many years had passed since the accident, and that he would be alright. He rambled in his head for his own comfort until he found that he was able to open the door.

It was dark, and the air felt as if the owner of the small apartment hadn't been there for days-or weeks. Red meowed happily at the sight of Shiro, but impatiently waited by her empty food and water bowls, guilt-tripping Shiro to get to work immediately.

He found it strange that a thin layer of dust had settled over everything-as if no one had been there for months. Another thought he dismissed as absurd; Shiro had talked to him on the phone just after Thace's death to make sure that he was okay-Keith was in the same room as the explosion anyway. It was a miracle that he came out unscathed.

The room also had a sort of chill over it-the kind that seemed unnatural. The presence stirred again, this time away from Shiro; the iron key that he still held seemed to dispel what presence that rest nearby. He clenched the key tighter as if he knew it could protected him.

Shiro paused, wondering why he felt that way. This was only Keith's apartment, a place he'd been a million times since Keith had moved in-but something felt _different_ this time. It was eerie, but at the same time it felt... familiar.

He sighed and put the key on the counter, immediately regretting doing so-his prosthetic arm started to shake uncontrollably again, just as it did when he turned the key to enter the apartment.

This happened often enough for him not to be extremely worried, and it surprised him that he hadn't foresee the problem earlier-when he had received the prosthetic it came with a warning mentioning 'cold places'. Shiro always thought this was strange, but he never questioned, as Dr. Honvera's methods were always considered so at first, but the fact was overlooked when it's brilliance was shown.

However, this warning (again) seemed off to him now, seeing how his arm never acted up in the winter, but in 'cold places' aforementioned.

The shaking had never hurt him before, but now the spasms seemed to slowly spread from his hand up to the stump that was once his arm.

Shiro's head started to hurt, but for a different reason than the shaking. He held his fake arm with his real one as his mind flashed back to the accident.

Red warning lights flickered on and off, along with warning sirens that were eventually replaced with a dull ringing as he tried to focus-as he tried to fix this. The words 'pilot error' rang in his ears from a separate suppressed memory.

Suddenly, it all changed again.

An emergency room.

Multiple doctors speaking at once.

_"We'll have to amputate it."_

The sound of something dropping startled him out of the memory, and he realised he was now on his knees, holding his right shoulder as he had been injured.

Shiro took another deep breath, and looked up to see Red holding... something. The cat seemed to smirk as she carried it away, but as Shiro reached out to her, his shaking prosthetic stopped, and started to hurt instead.

He was thankful for a moment-then everything turned black.

~~~~

Slowly the darkness cleared as he regained consciousness, although it took a while for Shiro to register that he was fine, and he slowly stood up, picking up the iron key he didn't know had dropped. He held his head with his real hand, and took a moment to catch his breath.

He set the key back down on the counter, and continued getting Red some cat food while quietly reassuring himself that he was fine, and not back in the ship or a hospital room.

He reminded himself that he was safe in Keith's apartment.

Shiro set the bowl down back on the floor and turned around to go find Red, remembering she was carrying something towards Keith's room just before he had-

His thoughts came to a halt as the sound of heavy breathing filled the quiet apartment-it was raspy and short, as if the being was trying to breath, but couldn't. The sound echoed in his mind as if he was in a cave.

The room's temperature suddenly dropped to a freezing cold, sending shivers down his spine and his arm into another shaking fit.

But regardless, he flattened out the palm of his prosthetic, holding it as still as he could, an instinct he never really knew when he picked up.

Shiro closed his eyes, took a deep breath and turned around.

In front of him he saw a figure hunched over and and on their knees, their hands clutching at the deep wounds on their right shoulder and left hip. It didn't take Shiro long to recognise the figure.

It was Keith.

Immediately Shiro rushed over to help, his worry for his friend taking over rational thought. He gently placed his prosthetic hand on Keith's left shoulder for comfort, not knowing what else he could do.

It took a while for Keith to notice.

Minutes later, he slowly looked up at his friend, shaking.

_'Shi...ro?'_

The voice echoed, just like his raspy breath.

"Save your breath... it's going to be okay!"

_'Shiro... I ca-can't brea...the...'_

His voice seemed weaker now, as if he would fade any second, and Shiro couldn't stand to hear him this way.

He watched Keith clench his wounds tighter, and his mind finally cleared up enough to think about the proper way to help.

"I'll find something to stop the wound from bleeding-"

_'don't...leave...'_

Shiro just looked back at him, not wanting to answer.

"I'll be right here, just finding bandages."

He quickly got up and took a few steps before reaching the counter. Then he stopped, as he no longer heard Keith's heavy breathing.

But something else hit him. Shiro didn't seem to process before but there was something about Keith that was off...

His eyes seemed hollow...

He didn't want to turn around, he needed to convince himself that it was his mind playing tricks.

Shiro slowly looked over his shoulder, expression filled with worry.

He was gone.

Keith had disappeared, but the image Shiro had of his missing friend was stronger than ever.

His shape was distorted, and outlined in a faint blue light that turned the outer layer into a violent shade of red. His wounds didn't bleed, but moved as though they were a part of him. His eyes were clear, and sunken as if he had not slept for days... and his mouth was not visible, but it seemed to blend into the barely transparent blue of his body.

Shiro held his head in his hands.

Was this a hallucination?

It couldn't have been... The fear in Keith's voice was all too real...

Shiro slowly shook his head, and decided to focus on feeding Red as he had came in to do.

The sooner he could leave, the sooner he could get answers, and he knew exactly who to ask.

~~~

  
_Keith closed his eyes, the wound on his shoulder sending a blazing arc of pain through him._

_Everyone had already left, and the thought somehow convinced him that he was going to be fine._

_He took several deep breaths, then opened his eyes to reassess the situation. Few support beams had held up during the blast, giving him time to escape. However, the wall where the bomb was attached to was flooding the small room fast-something he couldn't work around. The incoming water had short-circuited the controls to any actual exit, leaving him with the two options of either taking his chances climbing up the leftover support beams, or to make his own hole to swim out._

_Keith was just glad that the doors kept out the water._

_They would all be safe._

_He couldn't afford to worry now, and instead pulled out his knife from behind him._

_It was time to start climbing._

  
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**Author's Note:**

> Alright! That was fun. Now here I get to thank my wonderful editor @silverheaven0002 on tumblr! 
> 
> and I get to thank you for reading this! stay tuned for upcoming chapters and be sure to comment with any questions/comments/suggestions you have!


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